The Strangest of Places
by Loser Girl
Summary: I'm taking it upon myself to write romances for characters who never get any - This time.. ::gulp:: .. Gollum.
1. Default Chapter

~~~ *** ~~~  
  
  
This is a love story.  
  
Not your conventional, knight in shining armor, damsel in distress love story. This is a story of unconditional love; one that sees beyond the walls of appearance and light, one that dares to journey the dark places of the heart.  
  
It tells of love, found in the strangest and most disturbing of places. For love truly can be found anywhere and when you least expect it; even in a cave, in the barren Misty Mountains.  
  
  
~~~ *** ~~~ 


	2. Rescue

~*~*~* A/N: Don't even ask. I'm occasionally very strange. Deal with it. Gollum deserves a love story even more than Gimli did. A few notes: This takes place about three years before Bilbo, Gandalf, and the Dwarves stumble upon the goblins of the mountain. I don't own any of the characters. Well, I kinda own Nallione, because I made her up. Other than that. lol. And the only other characters are Gollum and Bilbo, so... Okay. Right. On with the story.*~*~*~  
  
  
~ Introduction ~  
  
Nallione lived in a small village, just at the base of the Misty Mountains. She was a young girl, barely eighteen, with dark hair and eyes. She lived happily with her family in the village.   
  
Until, one night, a group of goblins and wargs attacked them. Nallione was one of the few who were taken back, to be enslaved by the goblins in the mountain caves. Her family was slain.  
  
The darkness burned her eyes, and she had to squint to see merely an inch before her, as the goblins drove her and five others through the tunnels. She could smell the goblins better than she could see them; they were full of dirt and grime and sweat and blood, and reeked of death and darkness. She gave up crying several hours into the long walk; she merely walked on, moving one foot in front of the other. Repitition allowed her to continue.  
  
For two long weeks, the goblins held her as their slave; they made her work at mining a bit, for they were working hard at creating new weapons. Then, finally, on the fifteenth night of her enslavement, something wonderful happened.  
  
She was chipping at a bit of rock with a pickaxe, her feet and hands loosely chained. She heard a noise, like a cry, coming from the direction of her overseer. She turned slightly, squinting at the darkness. She could see nothing but shadow.  
  
Nallione took a step forward. Then, she felt a slithery, slimy hand take hers.  
  
"Shush," she heard a voice, and, though she felt the hand in hers, she could see no one. "We'll help her, my precious, won't we? Yes, my precious, praps she knows some riddles." Nallione felt a tug, as she was led down the path, chains clanking around her ankles and wrists.   
  
  
~*~*~* A/N: Short, I know. It's an intro! Deal with it! *~*~*~ 


	3. A Pretty Thing

~*~*~ A/N: Chocolate helps the brain write. Response to question: Nallione is a human. Tehe. Most of my characters are, unless otherwise specificated. *blinks* I just made a new word.*~*~*~  
  
  
She was led this way and that, until finally she found herself in a cavern, with a large, dark lake. A rock jutted out from the center of the water.   
  
"Praps she'll be safe here, my precious," she heard the voice again, as the hand slipped out of hers, and she heard whatever it was scurry away. Nallione glanced to and fro, taking a hesitant step forward.  
  
"Hello?" she called into the lake, and she heard a splashing sound in the water. "Hello, who is there?" She could faintly make out the movement of a rowboat in the lake, but nothing more. She could not even see a figure in the boat.  
  
Silence answered her, and a moment later, she heard the rowboat run aground in the center of the lake. There was a slight hissing sound, as she heard stones being moved about. Gollum was taking off the ring, hiding it away. Then, she could see the creature venture back into the boat, climbing into it and rowing back.   
  
Nallione squinted her eyes slightly. Whatever it was, was short, hunched over like, with grey skin, slimy, but with large, brilliant eyes. They illuminated the entire room, it seemed. She watched his eyes, as he came back.  
  
"Who are you?" she asked, as he crept out of the boat. She blinked, as it crept up to her, watching her with those huge eyes, crouching with it's elbows on it's knees.   
  
"She wants to know our name, precious," it hissed softly, to itself, then it made a sound in the back of it's throat; a sound like 'gollum'. "Yes, they called us that, Gollum, they called us."  
  
"Gollum?" Nallione repeated. "Is that your name?"  
  
"Our name? No, not our name," the creature, moved about, kind of crawling in a little circle around her. "Our name was Smeagol, but it's been long since we's been called that, yes, my precious, it has been long."  
  
She blinked, gulping, as Gollum looked up, into the direction of one of the tunnel exits.  
  
"Goblins," she heard it hiss, and he quickly grabbed her hand, pulling her to his rowboat. She sat uneasily, as Gollum wrapped his long fingers around the oar, shoving off and into the lake.  
  
"She must be quiet," Gollum hissed. "The goblins are looking for her, they is!"  
  
Nallione gulped. Although she did not trust this 'Gollum', she knew she did not want to be found by the goblins again. For they were terrible.  
  
Long minutes passed, Gollum's bright eyes fixed upon the tunnel-way. After several moments, he seemed to nod to himself.  
  
"The goblins is gave up their hunt. We's glad, my precious, we's very glad."  
  
"Why are you helping me?" Nallione asked the question that had been in her mind since he had rescued her from the goblins.  
  
"She's a pretty thing," she could hear him hiss, "And we likes pretty things. We's hates the goblins, we hates them forever!"  
  
She nodded. She still didn't quite understand, but she was thankful anyway for it. Gollum rowed the boat to the rock in the middle of the lake, getting out. She watched him expectantly, squinting in the darkness.  
  
"Is she coming?" Nallione heard him ask, stopping to glance back toward her.   
  
"Yes, yes, coming," she replied softly, climbing out of the boat.   
  
"This is our home," Gollum said, stopping to crouch on the rock. "We live here, we do, precious."  
  
Nallione nodded, glancing down. Something gold and shiny caught her eye from the rocks. She bent, picking it up, and turned it this way and that in her hands.  
  
"Oh, it's a ring," she said softly, raising her eyebrows. Hearing this, Gollum jumped at her, flying from his couching position and pinning her to the floor.  
  
"Give it to us, precious, give it back!" He cried, and Nallione, without a moment's hesitation, pressed the ring into his palm.  
  
"I wasn't going to take it," she said quickly, shaking her head, as the creature above her peered down, curious. "I was only lookin'." Gollum got off her, crawling to the edge of the rock, holding the ring tight against his chest.  
  
"It's our precious, it is, precious ring."  
  
Nallione sat up, brushing herself off.  
  
"I'll be sure not to touch it again," she said softly; for now she knew of another facet of Gollum - he would hurt, even kill her, for the ring.  
  
  
~*~*~*~ A/N: Please review! ^.^ I hope you likeses! *~*~*~ 


	4. Fishes

~*~*~ A/N: Persuant to Analiya's request: It'll get 'spicy' soon enough. And ew. lol. *~*~*~  
  
  
Nallione sat upon the stone, her knees hugged to her chest, as Gollum hunted fish in the lake. He caught several, bringing them back to the rock with him.  
  
"Does she likes fishes?" She heard his voice, low and almost a hiss. She shrugged a response, and was appalled as Gollum handed her a raw fish, and proceeded to eat his.  
  
"You do not cook?"  
  
"Fire bright, precious, too bright for our eyes." Nallione nodded slightly, understanding, but looked down in distaste at the fish.   
  
"It's this or starve," she mumbled to herself, shaking her head slightly.  
  
  
~~~ *** ~~~  
  
  
A few hours, and one disgusting raw fish, later, Nallione began to grow weary. The day had been an interesting one, and full of toil. She glanced to Gollum, who was sitting by the lake.  
  
"I think I may sleep a bit," she said uncertainly, and Gollum turned to her, crawling forward.  
  
"She's tired, precious, tired she is. We haven't got a bed for her, we's is sorry, we's is."  
  
"I need not a bed," she said quickly, and found a place to lay, where the rock was not so jagged and the ground so cold. "I thank you," she said, watching as Gollum crept closer. He leered over her, looking down, his face a few inches from hers.  
  
"Are there goblins?" she asked. "Do they come while we sleep?"  
  
"We won't sleep, we will watch for the goblins."  
  
She nodded, giving a slight smile to the creature. "Good night, Gollum."  
  
"Good night," it hissed, leaning down and brushing it's lips against her forehead. Nallione closed her eyes slightly, feeling a lift upon her burdened heart. The past weeks had been difficult; she had lost her family, been enslaved. But, it seemed, all had changed with this creature; this Gollum.  
  
  
~~~ *** ~~~  
  
  
Nallione awoke to the sound of a splash. She sat up, rubbing her eyes, trying to see what had happened. She widened her eyes, almost feeling them grow larger, peering into the darkness.  
  
She heard a hiss, then a grumble, as Gollum climbed from the water onto the rock, soaking wet. He had leaned too close to the water, trying to nab a fish, and had lost his balance and fallen in.   
  
"Are you all right?" she asked, and Gollum whipped his head toward her, blinking bright eyes at her.  
  
"We's is fine, fine." He crept to her, looking at her, at eye-level with her now.  
  
"I want to thank you," she said quietly, looking right into his eyes; the big, bright eyes. Gollum made a soft sound in the back of his throat, but not a 'gollum', nuzzling his head against her shoulder, almost lovingly.  
  
"She is welcome, precious, we's is glad to help her," he whispered, and nearly squeaked when she wrapped her arms around him, in a soft hug.   
  
He kept his head against her arm and she held him for a long while; it seemed that all the lonliness that she had felt in the past weeks, and the lonliness he had felt for untellable years, could melt away.   
  
After several minutes, she let him go, and he backed away a few paces, blinking up at her for a moment before turning away, creeping back to the shore.  
  
  
~*~*~*~ A/N: I'm mental. *~*~*~* 


	5. Glad

~*~*~ A/N: All right, all right! lol. I've been neglecting my own fics lately because I've been REALLY into me and De's collabs. Anyway, here's some more of my "I'm Mental" Gollum fic. Expect this to end in one or two more chapters. By the way, this is the mental-est chapter of them all. PS: I find it funny that you some of you guys have a hard time imagining Gollum hugging people. I always imagined him to be very touchy-feely. Like a big slimy cat. Hrm. Maybe it's just me. *~*~*~  
  
  
Days passed without much event, aside from the occasional goblin. Gollum and Nallione became closer, talking and just enjoying each other's company.  
  
Nallione awoke one morning to find the rock empty, though the boat was still ashore, right where Gollum had left it.  
  
"Gollum?" she mumbled, rubbing her eyes slightly. "Gollum, where are you?" She was met with no response, and she sat bolt upright, looking around quickly. "Gollum?" She climbed to her feet, looking about, turning around and around. Who knows what could have happened? Goblins could have came during the night, for all she knew.  
  
Actually, it was quite the opposite. Gollum crouched near the edge of the rock, the Ring upon his finger, watching her. He thought he maybe loved her. He had watched her sleep, all night, watched her chest rising and falling with breath. And how she sighed sometimes in her sleep, hugging her arms to herself, how sometimes she smiled. He wondered what she thought of when she smiled.  
  
"Gollum!" she cried, running to the edge of the rock, merely a foot from him. He looked down, and slipped the ring from his finger.  
  
"Here we are," he said softly, and she jumped, looking at him in amazement.  
  
"You were not there a moment ago."  
  
"No, we wasn't," he agreed, crawling to the place where he hid his ring. Then, he turned back to her. "We's sorry if we scared you, we are."  
  
Nallione shook her head slightly, a smile creeping to her lips. "It's all right. I thought the Goblins had gotten you." She watched him crawl back to her, and she sat on the rock, by his side. "I was worried."  
  
"Worried about us?"   
  
"Aye," she responded, nodding. "I'm glad all is well, though." She smiled, and he leaned his head onto her shoulder.  
  
"We's is glad she's here," Nallione heard him murmur, and she broke into a grin.   
  
"Strangely enough," she said softly, leaning her head against his, "I'm glad to be here too."  
  
Gollum snuggled his head into the crook of her neck, not yet satisfied. He wanted to be closer to her. Almost needed to be. He moved slightly, creeping a long arm around her waist. He felt her straighten, then relax, and she almost laughed.  
  
"Gollum?"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
She didn't respond, merely wrapped her arms around him, tugging him into her lap. He sighed gratefully, pressing his head against her shoulder.   
  
They sat like that for a long time.  
  
  
~*~*~* A/N: Eh.. it could've been longer, I know, but my throat hurts REALLY bad. And I can't talk today. Arr. *~*~*~* 


End file.
